


The Knocker on Death's Door

by shadowolfhunter



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 08:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3929500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. After the terrible events of Nick's mother's murder, the young Grimm is distraught. Swearing vengeance on all Royals. Sean overhears this, and snatches his daughter and runs.</p><p>Three years later, Sean Renard is broke, ill and out of options and his beloved daughter needs Rosalee's help. Returning to Portland, he finds Nick never gave up searching for him and Diana, to protect them.</p><p>Can Sean and Nick get past the zauberbiest/Grimm situation that has torn them apart before and forge something new in time to protect Diana from another Royal attack?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Home

The engine began to misfire when they were still only on the outskirts of Portland, Sean swore under his breath, and pumped the accelerator a few times, but the fuel pump issues seemed to have settled in to stay, and he barely managed to coast it into the side, out of the traffic.

He knew where they were, it was as though a gigantic weight had lifted off his chest, he was back in his home city, which he loved, they were facing an uncertain future, but they were back. He concentrated on the good.

Time enough to face trouble.

He leaned over the back of the seat, “Baby girl…” She came awake at once. Diana was good like that. She was very young when she was with Kelly, but the Grimm had taught her well, and it still hurt that Kelly Burkhardt had met her death at the hands of his family.

“Papa, where are we?”

“Nearly home, sweetheart.” He was used to hiding his innermost thoughts, but Diana was the most powerful hexenbiest in history, even if she was only three-quarters, she could read him like a book.

Like she was reading him now. “It is safe Papa. I promise.”

“Pinky swear.” He said, they had been playing this childish game for a long time now, he liked to do what he could to keep her a child until she had to grow up. It was tough enough being what she was, being who he was, and what he was too. He just wanted her to be safe and happy. That meant sacrifice.

Nick. He closed his eyes at the sheer wave of emotion that swamped him. Even after all this time, he was still in love with the Grimm. And he had no doubt the Grimm still hated him so that was that… what he dreamed would never be.

He straightened up and held out his hand to Diana, “come on, I know a place where someone will be delighted to see us.”

Her little hand in his, they set out the last few miles to the Spice Shop.

[][][][][]

She managed about a mile, which was further than Sean thought she would, and he was certain that she had only managed it to spare him. A thought reinforced by how wearily she climbed into his arms.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was only four.

Diana wrapped her arms around Sean’s neck, and leaned into her papa.

He was strong and still fit, but the three years of running and living the way they had lived, and sometimes just the lack meant that he wasn’t as strong as he used to be. After three miles, the tickle in the back of his throat was almost impossible to ignore, but he reined his cough in. He didn’t want Diana to worry.

Of course it’s Portland, so at about the five-mile mark it began to rain. He paused long enough to pull Diana’s raincoat from the rucksack with their things, then picked her up and continued on. Ignoring the rain soaking his black coat.

[][][][][]

Rosalee mixed ingredients for a new salve, it seemed that Nick got hurt a lot more easily these days. But then a lot had changed, especially since the loss of Sean Renard.

Nick had been devastated at his mother’s murder, and a lot of things were said… or screamed; as near as anyone could figure, Sean had overheard Nick, taken it all to heart and fled with his daughter.

That was three years ago, and Nick had gone crazy with grief and guilt for a while. Rosalee wasn’t even sure where they would have been without Trubel. Nick pulled back from the edge, but he’d never stopped searching for Sean, even though the Captain had resigned, and apparently left everything, house, bank accounts, his whole life behind.

So Nick had gone back to being a Grimm, searching for his Captain, and generally being a lot less careful than he had been before.

Hence the new salve. He was a Grimm, he apparently healed quickly like Wesen did, unfortunately that meant he was inclined to take risks.

Rosalee thought about the Captain a lot too, for different reasons, she had been stunned at Diana’s apparently accelerated growth in the brief time that she had seen Sean’s daughter, and she wondered how he was doing, alone and apparently without resources.

Lost in thought, for a moment she wondered if she had conjured Sean Renard up, like a mirage. Then she saw his tired face, and the child in his arms.

“Sean!” She put down the pestle and mortar, and hastened towards him.

“Rosalee,” he stepped forward and put the child down, “Diana needs some help.” The child turned to look at Rosalee, and the fuchsbau was astonished.

The last Rosalee had seen of Diana, the baby was apparently a toddler, now she looked eight or nine years old, although she was four.

“…go to Rosalee.” Sean was saying, and the tall, rather serious, pale child went to her.  
She had the suggestion of Sean’s height and his green eyes, Adalind’s blond hair, but paler almost white, and Rosalee could see that her abnormally fast growth was taking a toll on her little body.

There had been some doubt whether Diana was Sean’s or Erik’s, now she was older it was easy to tell she was Sean’s daughter. The green eyes mirrored the expression of her father’s almost exactly.

Talking to Diana, Rosalee also took a moment to study Sean. He seemed the same as he had been before he disappeared, on the surface, but he was a little thinner than she remembered, and there was a hint of exhaustion in his demeanor. 

The way he looked at her, that was a little worrying too, as though he was afraid.

“Sean?”

“You won’t tell anybody we’re here.” He blurted. And she took a breath. “Not if you don’t want me to.”

The war of emotions that crossed his face was another change, Sean had been the most closed off man she had ever encountered, no one ever knew what he was thinking.

He nodded at her answer, “thank you.” His breath hitched slightly then, and he coughed.

At that sharp, harsh wet sound Rosalee’s eyes widened, suddenly she understood why both Sean and his daughter appeared to be a little too thin. “Sean, I have something for that.”

He turned away, “I’m fine,” he rasped, trying to hold the cough back, “It’s Diana who needs you.”

He was shaking, and he broke down again, the hacking cough practically knocking him off his feet. Diana began to cry “Papa.” As Rosalee reached his side, the Captain’s eyes rolled up in his head, and he dropped like a stone. Diana was on her knees, crying her heart out, her little hands clasped in Sean’s damp jacket.

Rosalee got down and pulled him over into the recovery position, reaching for her cell, she hit speed dial. “Monroe, I need you.”

The Captain wanted their presence kept a secret, well Rosalee trusted her husband, and the Captain clearly needed some serious help. Rosalee picked up the blanket and wrapped it round Diana’s shoulders. Holding onto and soothing the girl, she waited for help.

[][][][][]

Sergeant Wu pulled over behind the abandoned station wagon. It was old, but surprisingly dent free, it looked like someone had cared for it for a while. He glanced in the windows. There were two sleeping bags in the back, rolled up, and what looked like a small gas stove, a couple of pans, but no other sign of camping equipment. A run on the license plate said that it belonged to a Henri Duchesne of Montreal, Canada, the plates were Montana ones, and when Wu tried a door handle, it was open.

Wu tried the glove compartment, it was empty but for a worn leather wallet. He flipped it open.

The name said Duchesne, but the picture was his Captain.

A rush of emotions swamped Wu. He looked at the car again, it was old, the camping gear in the back was worn, and heavily used, and he felt vaguely sick that his Captain was in such dire straits that he was living like this.

Just knowing that Sean was nearby would bring some comfort to Nick. The Grimm had never given up the search, long past the point at which Hank and Wu had tried to convince him that it wasn’t healthy to keep on searching.

They’d even had Monroe try to persuade him, convinced that the Captain was gone for good, if not already dead. But Nick had denied them all. And it looked as though he might be right.

He debated slipping the wallet into one of the evidence pouches he carried, but this wasn’t evidence, just the wallet of a well-loved old friend, who might just need them again.

Drew swallowed, the unexpected burn of tears to his eyes surprised him.

[][][][][]

Monroe felt guilty as hell doing this, but Rosalee had insisted, and after all, it was the Captain’s home, and until he was fit to let them know what he wanted, Monroe had to respect his wishes.

Nick was at work, and Monroe had had a key since the day Nick had moved in, three years before.

Nick had preserved all of the Captain’s clothes and belongings as though he expected Sean Renard to just walk back in any minute, so it was the matter of a few moments to collect a couple of pairs of pyjamas, some of the Captain’s toiletries and a couple of other items from their places.

Monroe tried not to think about Nick’s stuff sharing space with Renard’s, and what that meant for the Grimm. For everything that Nick had been through after Sean Renard disappeared, Monroe just wished he could tell the young detective that Sean was back, but Rosalee was right, they had to persuade the Captain that he had nothing to fear before they could tell Nick anything.

[][][][][]

Rosalee’s wesen doctor had thoroughly examined the Captain, pronounced him borderline malnourished, the chest infection had turned to pneumonia and she wanted to take him into hospital, but Sean had become quite panicky and refused.

They had compromised that if the tests showed that the Captain’s curb score was 2 or more he would be taken in, but if it was lower, Rosalee could care for him.

Diana sat cross-legged on the bed next to her Papa and eyed the doctor suspiciously.

Rosalee needed Diana to trust her, so agreeing to whatever her ailing father wanted seemed like the plan they needed.

Monroe and Rosalee helped the Captain into pyjamas, and they left him to rest while Rosalee took Diana down to the kitchen. Monroe stayed a little. Renard was quiet and pale, his breathing raspy; “I wish you would let me tell Nick.” Monroe didn’t miss the flinch and the nervousness that his words enduced.

He patted the hand nearest him comfortingly. “But if you don’t want to we won’t.” Feeling sorrow at the relief on the Captain’s face, that it had come to this. Nick was distraught at the damage his careless words had done, and Monroe was sure he would be devastated at the condition that Renard and Diana were both in.

[][][][][]

Nick took the wallet from Wu’s hand with trembling fingers. He’d been looking so long, this was the closest he had gotten in three years. That Sean was here, filled him with a sense of relief. The Captain was alive, and all Nick had to do was find him.

Find him and Diana. 

So much had happened, and Nick just wanted to say sorry, he never meant to hurt Sean or Diana.

There was a tinge of hurt and perhaps even a little anger than Sean hadn’t trusted him, but that was nothing to the relief that Nick felt that Sean was still alive and the Royals hadn’t managed to kill him.

He grabbed his jacket, distracted now, he needed to find Monroe.

[][][][][]

Rosalee gently slid the elastic from the oxygen mask over the Captain’s head, dazed green eyes opened and stared at her, then closed again. She relaxed, with the additional oxygen that Dr Feldman had left Sean was breathing a little easier. 

Rosalee was breathing a little easier herself, the tests had come back, Sean did indeed have pneumonia, but with a score of one. Instructions were that he needed a lot of rest, good food and peace and quiet and he would recover quickly. The doctor had given him some massive shots of anti-biotics, and written out a prescription for him which Monroe had already filled, left the oxygen tank and mask and departed.

Diana had given her father a hug good night, and gone to bed with very little fuss.

All was well.

[][][][][]

Nick virtually ran up to Monroe’s front door. Knocking like a man possessed.

“Dude, take it easy.” Monroe stood aside to let the Grimm in. “Where’s the fire?”

Nick spun round, “It’s Sean… He’s back.” He tugged the wallet out of his jacket pocket, “look… it’s his.”

Monroe’s face fell, the eager look on Nick’s face, knowing how distraught the Grimm had been when the Captain disappeared. Without meaning to, the blutbad glanced up.

“You know.” Nick’s eyes were fastened on the stairs behind Monroe. “oh my god, he’s here.” The Grimm pushed past the blutbad intending to head up the stairs.

“Nick, no…” Monroe grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

“Wait? What for…” Nick was looking hurt and confused, and Monroe was feeling lousy that he was doing this to his friend.

“Nick… I…” Monroe shook his head helplessly.

“Nick.” Rosalee was coming down the stairs, she stopped in front of her friend. “Sean’s here.” The eager look on the Grimm’s face was killing her, “he’s sick, he needs a lot of rest, so you can’t just go barging in.”

“Sick? What’s wrong with him? Where’s Diana?” She could hear the rising anxiety in his voice.

“Diana’s here too.” She tried to placate the scared man, “I know you wouldn’t hurt him, but he’s ill, he’s not thinking rationally.”

“I have to see him, please Rosalee.”

Rosalee nodded. “I know. But if he wants you to go, you need to leave. Okay.”

Nick headed up the stairs, “I promise.”


	2. The Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick spends time with Sean, and finds some peace and hope. Diana is incredibly powerful.

Nick quietly opened the door to the bedroom that he’d last spent time in almost four years ago. Now it housed Sean and his daughter, and Nick was nervous about his reception.

Monroe and Rosalee had said that Sean was ill, but they hadn’t said anything more than that, and Nick was worried.

The room was almost exactly as Nick had left it, except for the little trundle bed under the window, where he could see a small figure under a quilt, with some golden blonde hair flopped over the top, but it was the double bed that drew his attention, the oxygen tank by the bed, the Captain, on his back, resting partially propped up by a mountain of pillows, the very faint hiss of oxygen, and the rasping wheeze of the Captain’s breathing.

Oh god. Nick stepped forward, Sean, paler and thinner than he remembered, the plastic mask over Sean’s nose and mouth, those awful sounds. Nick couldn’t bear it. He reached out and touched Sean’s hand.

Sean woke up. For what seemed like an eternity they stared at each other, Nick hating the flash of real fear that shone in the fever-glazed green eyes.

“God, no, Sean… I would never hurt you or Diana.” Nick wrapped his fingers gently but firmly around the older man’s hand. He could feel the heat from the zauberbiest’s skin, and the fact that the fingers were trembling in his, that was breaking his heart.

Sean didn’t try to jerk his hand away from Nick, but he seemed almost poised on the edge of flight.

“Nick.” Sean’s voice was hoarse and raspy, and his free hand came up and pushed at the mask, fumbling to try and remove it.

Very gently Nick reached out with his free hand and moved Sean’s hand away from the mask, “no Sean, you need it.”

Nick had always seen Sean as strong, and a little bit detached, the Captain looked anything but detached, and Nick realized that Sean was sicker than he had thought at first, even with the oxygen mask as a clue.

His Captain was Wesen, he was supposed to just bounce back from sickness and injury, but the only reason Sean wasn’t pulling away from Nick right now was that he literally couldn’t.

That hurt. He should let go, but having searched for Sean for three years, he needed the reassurance of touch. Very gently, he stroked Sean’s wrist trying to calm him even a little. Sean watched him, the green eyes were still wary, but Nick could feel Sean was beginning to relax, though perhaps that was just exhaustion and the strain that illness was placing on the Captain’s body.

Hearing Sean struggle for every breath was upsetting. Nick realized he probably should leave, let Sean get the rest that his body needed. He started to get to his feet, letting go of Sean’s wrist.

“Stay.” He wasn’t certain if he had even heard that right it was so quietly said, but Sean moved then as though he was trying to prevent Nick from leaving, and he was so weak, Nick almost panicked.

“I’m staying.” Nick gently patted the hand nearest to him, and moved around the other side of the bed, he was tired, and he was going to stay all night, all the next day too. In fact, he planned to stay forever if Sean and Diana would have him.

[][][][][]

Monroe cast another slightly despairing look at the stairs, and Rosalee smiled a little ruefully, “we did say that we would give them time, and there’s no screaming and yelling…”

Monroe got to his feet. “I’m going to check.” He said firmly.

For a big man, he could move incredibly quietly when he needed to, and he used all the stealth of his kind to slink up the stairs, and very cautiously open the door to the room they had given Sean and his daughter.

The Captain was still pale, with flushed cheeks and his breathing was still seriously compromised if the rasping wheeze was anything to go by. But Monroe’s wesen senses could feel that the zauberbiest had relaxed a little, and the romantic in Monroe’s nature thought that was probably because Nick was by his side.

It had been perfectly plain to Monroe’s nose some three years ago that the Captain and the Grimm had a thing for each other. It was subtle, but it was there, and their body language in each other’s presence, and even the looks that they gave each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking, only reinforced the idea.

They probably had a long way to go, but Nick was curled up close on the bed right next to his ailing Captain, the impression that Monroe had was that the Captain was breathing a little easier because of Nick’s proximity, and they were holding hands.

It was such a sweet and tender thing between two incredibly dangerous creatures, and Monroe, even though he didn’t swing that way, could totally see it. Nick had that whole wholesome, gorgeous boy-next-door thing going on, and he was as genuine and honest and caring a man as Monroe had ever met, the Captain was a huge, strong, handsome Adonis, who clearly loved Nick with everything he had. Together they made an incredibly powerful and attractive couple, and Monroe would have been lying if he had said that didn’t give him a twinge of foreboding.

Sean’s terrible, brutal, deranged family would not like Sean and Nick getting together, and would do some nasty fucked up shit to stop it. Just like they did last time.

Seeing the two men, at peace, Monroe vowed then and there that he would do whatever he could to help them stay together.

He slunk out, closing the door behind him, leaving his Grimm and his Royal Zauberbiest to find each other.

[][][][][]

A cell phone rang, and Crown Prince Viktor Beckendorf pulled open the drawer and eyed it warily.

He picked it up. “Ja?”

“He’s back, word is he’s sick.”

Viktor’s grip tightened on the phone, “does he have the child with him.”

“Yes.”

Viktor disconnected the call, dropped the phone back into the drawer and slammed it shut.

So it would begin again. And given the history, this would go badly again. Viktor had had enough of it. His view, time to leave the bastard prince, and his bastard hexenbiest child alone, before any more misfortune befell the already weakened and deeply troubled family…

He knew his view would not be regarded.

[][][][][]

Listening to Sean’s breathing as he was being examined, Nick tried to interpret the doctor’s expression. He was guessing that it wasn’t good, Sean’s lungs were clearly badly congested. He didn’t need to be a doctor to hear that.

“No excitement at all. Keep him quiet, keep him warm, let him sleep as much as possible. I will come back this evening, if things are no better I’ll need to admit him.”

Nick kept his hand on Sean’s wrist, felt the shiver of protest that announcement caused. The doctor followed Rosalee out of the room, and Nick turned back to Sean.

The green eyes were concentrated on him, wary still, but there was more puzzlement than fear now, and Nick was taking any win he could get. A big plus, Diana liked him. She had quite spontaneously hugged Nick when she had woken to find him next to her father.

He stretched out a hand and caressed Sean’s brow gently, “you need to get some sleep.”

Sean’s free hand fumbled the mask down, “will you stay?” Even three short words caused him to wheeze and catch his breath. Nick hated to see his zauberbiest in so much pain. He reached out, and gently replaced the mask over Sean’s mouth and nose.

“I’ll stay.” 

Sean closed his eyes. Nick reached over to pull the extra blanket up from the foot of the bed, covering himself and Sean, lay back down next to the man he was prepared to admit that he loved.

[][][][][]

Rosalee prepared some tea, while Diana sat and watched. She was a grave, quiet child, probably because of her alarming start in life, so quiet that at times Rosalee wondered if she spoke at all, but the child was polite and reserved, perhaps she spoke French with her father, it was his native tongue after all. It might help explain why Diana never asked any questions.

Rosalee finished up, putting the tea and food all on a tray to take upstairs. Diana slipped down from her seat and followed Rosalee.

Nick was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to Sean. To Rosalee’s relief Sean’s breathing sounded easier and Diana certainly seemed to think so, judging by the way she ran to her father’s side and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Tea.” Said Rosalee, as Nick scrambled up to help get Sean into a sitting position and find somewhere to put the tray.

“Thank you.” Sean pushed the mask down, and smiled at the Fuchsbau, “thank you for everything, sorry to be so much trouble.” He managed the entire sentence without wheezing too much, and Rosalee could feel the relief, not just hers, but Nick’s too.

“Papa.” Diana was holding her hands out, and Nick stepped behind her and lifted her up so that she could sit next to her father. Diana’s smile was particularly sweet as she thanked Nick.

“Papa’s still poorly, so we have to look after him.”

“Papa!” Diana pressed herself against her father, little arms around as much of his powerful body as she could reach.

Sean gently stroked her hair back, and raised her chin so that their eyes met. “I’m okay my darling.”

Nick swallowed hard at the lump in his throat, seeing the love in Sean’s eyes, and the answering adoration on Diana’s face. “Pinky swear!”

Sean’s slightly gravelly voice, “pinky swear!” his large hands, with their long, graceful fingers, Diana had clearly inherited long delicate fingers from her father, if Nick Burkhardt had loved Sean Renard before, he had fallen in love all over again with the Zauberbiest and his child.

Sean looked up, over Diana’s head. “Can you help her,” he asked Rosalee, “she tires easily, and she’s four, but she’s growing so fast.”

“I don’t know.” Rosalee replied honestly, “it will take me a while to look at the book.”

“Please.” She could read the anxiety in Sean’s eyes, if Diana continued to grow and age at the accelerated rate, she could die before her father… of old age.

“What about her mother?” Nick said quietly.

Sean stiffened a little. “We haven’t seen Adalind since before we left.”

Nick could have kicked himself. Reminding Sean of everything that had happened with Adalind, and Sean’s child, and Nick’s child. He saw his boy Peter regularly, Adalind had been surprisingly good about letting him have a role in her child’s life, especially after all that had happened with Sean and Diana.

Reaching out, he took hold of Sean’s hand again, stroking his Captain’s forearm soothingly with his other hand. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Nick could tell Sean was covering, that he didn’t want to upset his daughter; he could also sense that Diana was more worried about her father than upset about her mother, which surprised Nick. Then he realized that the powerful child was actually easing his own anxiety, and she was soothing Sean too.

Astonished, he stared at the little blonde girl, his Grimm senses were being relaxed, Diana was actually bringing him closer to Sean. She wanted them to be together.

Rosalee calmly handed Nick a cup of tea as though she didn’t realize what was going on, which from her expression Nick could tell wasn’t true. He never liked being manipulated, but this didn’t seem like manipulation, Diana was showing him how his life could be forged with Sean’s, how they could be together, and he was letting her do it.

It struck Nick then that his mother had been right, Diana’s potential for good was unlimited.

He held Sean’s hand, and drank his tea, and wondered how they had come to this, after all the years of struggle, where things were suddenly going so right.


End file.
